Salem makes Virginia’s top 10 on 2 lists
Salem is ranked on 39 lists against the 255 Virginia towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 2 and the top quarter on 3.
The lists Salem does best on
Each list ranks every VA town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Salem marked.
Salem lands in the top half on 11 of 25 lists
Each dot is Salem’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in VA, the right end is last. Areas where Salem does best come first.
Fewer kids than 78% of Virginia
Not better or worse, just Salem’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
3 spots from the top 10 for library visits
Lists where Salem sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
Salem out-ranks 0 of its 2 ranked neighbors
Head to head on the lists where both towns are ranked: a point for each list where one town places higher. Tap a town for its own rankings.
Where Salem lands in every VA ranking
41 lists from Census, school, health, library, crime, climate and land data. Tap any list to see every town on it.
Getting around
Shortest commute#1 Quantico Base · 11.5 min
#28 Cost of living
Most affordable#1 Covington · 0.9 yrs
#62
Cheapest rent#1 Clifton Forge · $592/mo
#63
Lowest property tax#1 Covington · $681/yr
#99
Rent easiest to afford#1 Franconia · 28.6%
#58 Housing
Vacation-home towns#1 Chincoteague · 54%
#60
Most new homes#1 Falls Church · 12.8 per 1,000
#18
Fastest-rising home prices#1 Crewe · +71.5%
#83
Housing hasn't kept up#1 Manassas Park · 61.4 per home
#18 Libraries
Most-used libraries#1 Bristol · 11.5 per resident
#13
Most library borrowing#1 Falls Church · 30.8 per resident
#10
Best libraries for kids#1 Falls Church · 49.3 per child
#10 
Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Groveton · 53.8%
#108
U
Most trails#1 University of Virginia · 10.3 mi / sq mi
#192
O
Most walkable#1 One Loudoun · 214 / sq mi
#113 Health
Healthiest#1 Tysons · 100 / 100
#147
N
Lowest obesity#1 Navy · 20%
#135
Fewest smokers#1 Great Falls · 5%
#142
Most active#1 Wyndham · 14%
#139
Fewest uninsured#1 Great Falls · 4%
#95
Lowest depression#1 Loudoun Valley Estates · 15%
#203
Closest to a top hospital#1 Charlottesville · 0.0 mi
#239 People
N Most educated#1 Navy · 87.8% #161 U Youngest#1 University of Virginia · 19.6 #157 N Oldest#1 North Shore · 62.6 #99 N Most residents 65+#1 North Shore · 44.9% #59 F Most kids#1 Fort Belvoir · 47.5% #198
Climate
Snowiest#1 Norton · 47 in
#86
Least snow#1 Emporia · 1.4 in
#168
Mildest winters#1 Norfolk · 33.2°
#89
Hottest summers#1 Colonial Heights · 89.7°
#107
Coolest summers#1 Wise · 79.9°
#117
Longest growing season#1 Norfolk · 252 days
#71
Wettest#1 Big Stone Gap · 52 in
#114 Safety
Safest#1 Broadway · 5.7
The number on the right is Salem’s spot. All of Virginia’s rankings, with the map → · National lists and other states: all rankings.
Do the numbers ring true?
The lists count what can be counted. Neighbors know the rest.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
- 2,500+ residents. Census estimates for smaller towns carry margins of error too wide to rank fairly, so they sit out every VA list.
- One town, one row. A city that is both a city and a town in Census data, or a village inside a town, is counted once.
- Ties share a rank. Towns on one weather station, one school district or one CDC estimate share a figure, so they share a spot (T).
- No “worst” lists. Lists rank toward the good end, and share cards are made only for the top half. Age, snow and the like are character, not grades.
U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, 2010 and 2020 censuses, Building Permits Survey), U.S. Department of Education, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, CDC PLACES, Medicare Care Compare, IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FHFA House Price Index, NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. Each list explains its own method.